§ 76-H — Information to be submitted to court

§ 76-h. Information to be submitted to court. 1. Subject to\nsubdivision five of this section, in a child custody proceeding, each\nparty, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give\ninformation, if reasonably ascertainable, under oath as to the child's\npresent address or whereabouts, the places where the child has lived\nduring the last five years, and the names and present addresses of the\npersons with whom the child has lived during that period. The pleading\nor affidavit must state whether the party:\n (a) has participated, as a party or witness or in any other capacity,\nin any other proceeding concerning the custody of or visitation with the\nchild and, if so, identify the court, the case number, and the date of\nthe child custody determination, if any;\n (b) knows of any proceeding that could affect the current proceeding,\nincluding proceedings for enforcement and proceedings relating to\ndomestic violence, protective orders, termination of parental rights,\nand adoptions and, if so, identify the court, the case number, and the\nnature of the proceeding; and\n (c) knows the names and addresses of any person not a party to the\nproceeding who has physical custody of the child or claims rights of\nlegal custody or physical custody of, or visitation with, the child and,\nif so, the names and addresses of those persons.\n 2. If the information required by subdivision one of this section is\nnot furnished, the court, upon motion of a party or its own motion, may\nstay the proceeding until the information is furnished.\n 3. If the declaration as to any of the items described in paragraphs\n(a) through (c) of subdivision one of this section is in the\naffirmative, the declarant shall give additional information under oath\nas required by the court. The court may examine the parties under oath\nas to details of the information furnished and other matters pertinent\nto the court's jurisdiction and the disposition of the case.\n 4. Each party has a continuing duty to inform the court of any\nproceeding in this or any other state that could affect the current\nproceeding.\n 5. Upon a finding, which may be made ex parte, that the health or\nsafety of a party or child would be unreasonably put at risk by the\ndisclosure of identifying information, or if an existing order so\nprovides, a tribunal shall order that the address of the child or party\nor other identifying information not be disclosed in a pleading or other\ndocument filed in a proceeding under this article. Notwithstanding any\nother provision of law, if the party seeking custody of the child has\nresided or resides in a residential program for victims of domestic\nviolence as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social\nservices law, the present address of the child and the present address\nof the party seeking custody and the address of the residential program\nfor victims of domestic violence shall not be revealed. Upon making an\norder that the address of the child or party or other identifying\ninformation not be disclosed, the court shall designate the clerk of the\ncourt or such other disinterested person as the agent for service of\nprocess for the party whose address is to remain confidential and shall\nnotify the adverse party of such designation in writing. The clerk or\ndisinterested person designated by the court shall, when served with\nprocess on behalf of the party whose address is to remain confidential,\npromptly notify such party whose address is to remain confidential and\nforward such process to him or her. The party whose address is to remain\nconfidential shall inform the clerk of the court or disinterested person\ndesignated by the court of any change in address for purposes of receipt\nof service of process.\n